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The heavy rain of that night had long washed away the blood, but the scars remained. After the clash that nearly cost Kaeya his life, Diluc threw down his Vision and vanished from Mondstadt, leaving a fractured brother in his wake.
In the weeks that followed, Kaeya was a ghost haunting the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Jean healed his wounds to the best of her ability, but she couldn't get him to talk, nor would she force him to, despite having her suspicions as to what happened. After all, there is no medicine for a broken heart.
Then, as soon as Kaeya was discharged, not to be allowed back on duty, but to return to his life as a civilian, he drank his troubles away at the Angel's Share.
He smiled, he drank, and he lied, but the warmth was entirely gone.
Sitting at the bar, he takes a long swig of Dandelion wine, downing shots after shots rapidly. After a moment, he takes a breather and buries his face in his hands while Charles stares on in concern, torn between wanting to cut him off or letting him continue.
"Barkeep, the usual, please." Kaeya hears someone say, but he doesn't register it. A stool a couple seats away screeches as it moves, and someone takes a seat next to him. "What happened to you?" The voice asks. A girl. In his drunken stupor, he almost mistakes her for Rosaria, his recent drinking buddy he made, but it isn't.
Lowering his hands from his face, Kaeya turns to the voice and sees a fellow knight. The first thing he notices is a Cryo Vision hanging off her collar, uneven light blue hair, and dark golden eyes. It takes him a moment to realize who she is.
"... Ah, Eula Lawrence? This must be the first time we are meeting. I have heard many things about you." Her eyes narrow, but he continues. "Before you get the wrong idea, I don't care about your family issues." He grins, although it doesn't reach his eyes.
Eula relaxes visibly. "I suppose it is refreshing to hear that, mister...?"
"Kaeya." He offers a hand, which she shakes gracefully.
"Just Kaeya?"
"I used to be part of the Ragnvindr family, but after Master Crepus' death, his son disowned me." His grin drops sadly.
Eula nods. "My apologies..."
He shakes his head. "So, what's a beauty like you doing here wasting away with the rest of us?" He smirks, putting on his flirtatious façade.
She rolls her eyes. "I have my own issues too, you know. Don't talk about me like I'm perfect. Besides, I am not here just because I'm miserable. I like to drink."
Kaeya raises his mug. "To nice wine."
His new partner sighs and clinks hers against his.
"I like to drink alone, so don't get used to my company too often," She grumbles.
Kaeya chuckles. "Well, too bad, because you have me to keep you company now." This time, his smile is brighter, still full of depression, but a little more true.
Eula's face turns a little red at the sight. She couldn’t help but find his sad smile cute. "You dare violate my private drinking time? Hmph! I'll have my vengeance for this."
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One day, Kaeya, early in the morning, had the rare pleasure of crossing paths with Eula during their work schedule at the entrance of the Knights of Favonius headquarters, but she wasn’t alone.
There was a fancily dressed nobleman facing her.
“A filthy traitor like you has no place in Mondstadt, you Lawrence scum! Leave!”
“Hmph! I’m not obligated to listen to you, a stranger.”
The man scowled and moved closer in a threatening manner.
Kaeya didn’t like where this is going. He intercepted the man from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder, catching both the nobleman and Eula by surprise. He smiles politely.
“Hello there. Mondstadt has no mental institutions, but I hear Liyue has excellent healthcare. Haven’t you heard?”
“W-What?”
Kaeya’s smile drops. “Would you like me to check you into one? I can escort you, too.”
Fear and outrage etches its way onto the nobleman’s face. “D-Don’t you know who I am?! I am Sir Clutterbuck!”
He puts on a faux thinking look, mocking, much to Eula’s amusement. “Sir Clutterfuck? Hm… No, doesn’t ring a bell. Should it have?”
Sir Clutterbuck’s face turns red with rage. He roars as he tries to throw a punch at the Cavalry Captain, who catches it easily and smirks threateningly. “I see. So, you don’t want me to take you to a mental institution. In that case, I can familiarize you with the cemetery behind the cathedral instead. What do you think, Eula?”
Eula, surprised that his sense of humor is on the darker side, giggles. “Oh, that sounds wonderful. Let me help-”
The man yelps. Throwing himself free of Kaeya’s grip, he runs away.
“Tch. What a shame. I wanted to test some new moves I learned with my Vision on him,” Kaeya grumbles. He turns to Eula. “You okay?” He asks with concern.
She blushes and turns around. “Ah, erm. W-Well, it wasn’t something I couldn’t handle. I appreciate it… But making me feel indebted to you like this? Hmph! I will have my vengeance.”
From that point onward, whenever anyone tried to pull anything against Eula, they were brutally shut down or never heard from again, all because of a certain protective someone.
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Several months passed, and they grew closer.
Kaeya gave up on Diluc coming home. He still has his Pyro Vision and keeps an eye on it, but he figured the redhead is too angry to want anything to do with him. In that time period, he misses Diluc and would fall depressed at moments, but he decided it is time to move on. He can’t keep waiting for someone that might never come home. He has duties to carry out.
He learned Eula's favorite foods and treated her to them frequently, much to her secret delight. He learned a lot about her, but rarely did he talk about himself. At first, he thought it was because he just loved listening to her talk, which he does, but he realized he is also reluctant to open up. A part of him felt guilty, like he doesn't deserve her, that he's a parasite latching onto another host to leech off after losing his first two, but he buried that thought.
Until the day came that it bit him in the ass.
While in the middle of a battle, Kaeya’s mind was clouded with self-doubt and fear of growing close to another person again. What if she finds out about his past? So what? Would it be such a bad thing if she turned her blade against him and-
"Kaeya!" A shout snaps him out of his thoughts as she tackles him out of the way, narrowly evading a stream of fire from an Abyssal pyro lector. They killed several pyro mages and hilichurls, but the lector is giving them a little trouble.
Angry that he almost got hit, Eula sends a wall of ice flying at the monster and kills it. She finally managed to weaken its defenses enough to land the finishing blow. Then, panting for air, she glares at her partner, who flinches.
"I'm sorr-"
"No, I am not angry at you. I'm worried. Why did you zone out? And in the middle of battle? That’s concerning, Captain."
He looks down. "Eula... There's things about my past that... that you would find ugly. I'm afraid of being close to you, because if you ever find out..."
Her eyes soften. "You're my friend, Kaeya." Stepping forward, she hugs him, reaching up to her tippy toes due to the height difference. "... My only friend. I don't care about your past-"
"I'm from Khaenri'ah." He says, unable to raise his arms to hold her back.
She holds him tighter. "I don't care."
"I'm a spy…" He says so softly that she almost misses it. She stays silent for a few seconds, and for a moment, he was wondering if she would drive her sword through his abdomen. A part of him wished for it.
"Have you done anything to hurt Mondstadt?" She feels him shake his head. "Then…” Reaching up, she gently removed his eyepatch, admiring the scar near his beautiful golden iris. “You're just Kaeya to me." As a descendant of the disgraced Lawrence clan, she knew exactly what it felt like to be hated for a lineage she didn't choose.
Relief courses through him. He finds it in him to hug her back, nuzzling her hair and inhaling her scent. She smells unique, rare, like some cold floral scent mixed with shampoo, and a hint of wine, almost too perfect, something befitting the expectations placed on her. His heart skips.
"Thank you..."
She smiles a little. "No problem, although I will have my vengeance for making me save you as you stood there like a fool."
A bond forged between them. They were Mondstadt’s two greatest outcasts, shielding their deep vulnerabilities behind masks of carefree flirtation and cold vengeance. Over the years, late-night tavern banter turned into quiet, shared dawns on the cliffs of Starsnatch. They found a rare, fierce sanctuary in each other.
Because of this, Kaeya began falling for her, and Eula felt the same.
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He remembers when he first asked her out.
They weren't in Angel's Share. No. They were in the Knights of Favonius headquarters debriefing after a mission. Jean was conversing with all the Captains, including Kaeya, the newly appointed Cavalry Captain, but he was distracted by his friend turned love interest seated next to him as Lisa kept sending him knowing glances, which he promptly ignored.
He should've been nervous, but he really wasn't, especially when he suspected that Eula felt the same way.
The parts of the meeting he deemed important were covered. Once Jean finished talking to Hertha and Albedo, she moved to the Outrider Amber. It was at this point that Kaeya interrupted everyone when he turned to Eula.
"Say, I asked Adelinde to prepare some things for a picnic, and there's no one else's company I desire more than yours. Would you accompany me, please?"
Everyone stops to stare as Amber squawks in protest at being interrupted during her report.
Eula nods. "Sure-"
"I mean, on a date."
"A date?" Her eyes light up.
"Yes. Over at Starsnatch Cliff. I refuse to flirt indefinitely and would very much like the privilege of calling you mine."
"Then let's leave now and prepare for our date, Captain. Although, because you know that I'm an introvert and hate having all this attention on me, I will have my vengeance when you least expect it." She subtly jabs him in the side and gets up to leave first, although she can't stop the smile curling on her lips.
Kaeya follows her with a chuckle, even though Jean didn't explicitly dismiss them, ignoring Amber's shout of, "Hey! Get back here!" and Jean's reply of, "Let them be."
The date went perfectly. They ate their food, chatted, laughed, and cuddled as Eula rested her head on his shoulder.
He still feels some self-doubt and uncertainty, but the future has never looked brighter.
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Diluc Ragnvindr returned to Mondstadt.
He walked through the city gates under a heavy cloak, his heart hardened by his travels, ready to reclaim his winery and face the ghosts of his past. He expected many things: a city unchanged, a lingering tension, and perhaps a smug, mocking welcome from his former brother.
Instead, his first stop at the Knights of Favonius headquarters brought him face-to-face with Acting Grand Master Jean, who looked up from her paperwork with wide, stunned eyes.
"Diluc," she breathed, standing up. "You're back."
"I am," Diluc said shortly, his voice rough. Then, he got straight to the point. "Where is Kaeya?”
“Kaeya?” Jean’s eyes narrow protectively.
“Is he still in Mondstadt?” Diluc clarifies.
The Acting Grand Master nods. “Yes, of course. He’s my Cavalry Captain. He took over your position several months after you left.”
“Hm. No doubt making a nuisance of himself."
Jean paused, a complicated look flitting across her face. "He is the Cavalry Captain. But Diluc... a lot has changed in four years. You should check the active roster on the bulletin board."
Frowning, Diluc stepped out into the hallway and walked over to the wooden board listing the high-ranking officers. His eyes scanned down the list until they hit the Cavalry division.
Cavalry Captain: Kaeya Lawrence.
Diluc froze. The air left his lungs. He stared at the ink, convinced it was a misprint or some elaborate, cruel joke. Lawrence? The Ragnvindr name was gone, and to take the surname of Mondstadt's most despised aristocrats?
"Staring won't change the list, Master Diluc."
Diluc spun around. Walking down the corridor was Kaeya. He looked older, sharper, but remarkably at peace. He wore his usual fur-lined coat, but pinned prominently over his heart was a crest bearing the insignia of the Lawrence clan. It looked different from the usual crest though, as it was platinum instead of blue.
Before Diluc could speak, light footsteps echoed behind Kaeya. Eula appeared, holding a stack of patrol reports. She stopped beside Kaeya, her expression guarded but fiercely protective.
"Kaeya," Diluc choked out, his voice laced with a mix of confusion and rising anger. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you taken that name?"
Kaeya didn't flinch. He didn't offer his usual theatrical laugh. Instead, he gently reached out and took Eula’s hand, lacing his fingers through hers. On Kaeya's ring finger, a simple band of silver caught the torchlight.
"When you left, Diluc, you made it quite clear that I no longer belonged to the Ragnvindr family," Kaeya said, his tone perfectly calm, yet cuttingly direct. "You cast me out. But I found a home anyway."
Eula stepped forward slightly, her chin raised in defiance, her hand squeezing Kaeya's tightly. "The Lawrence name carries a heavy burden in this city, Master Diluc. But we chose to bear it together. We were married a year ago."
Diluc stared at their joined hands, the reality crashing down on him. The brother he had tried to kill, the boy he had abandoned in his grief, had not waited around for him. Diluc fantasized of this day, that the younger would beg him for forgiveness. Instead, he had built a new life, found a new family, and completely shed the past that Diluc had spent four years running away from.
"You... married a Lawrence," Diluc whispered.
"I married Eula, and I proudly took her name.," Kaeya corrected softly, a genuine, rare smile touching his lips as he looked at his wife before turning back to him. "Welcome back to Mondstadt, Diluc. I hope your travels brought you whatever it was you were looking for."
With a polite nod, Kaeya turned, his arm guiding Eula down the hall as they walked away together, leaving Diluc alone in the corridor with the realization of everything he had lost.
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Later that day, the atmosphere inside Angel’s Share was suffocating. Diluc stood behind the counter, methodically wiping down a glass he had already cleaned three times. The tavern was empty, save for one patron sitting at the counter.
Eula sat straight-backed, her fingers curled tightly around a glass of Death After Noon. She gracefully takes a sip.
"You shouldn't be here," Diluc said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "The Lawrence family is not welcome in my establishment."
Lowering the glass, Eula looks at him. "I am not here as a Lawrence seeking your subpar hospitality, Master Diluc," Eula fired back, her golden eyes flashing with cold fire. "I am here as Kaeya’s wife. And I am here to tell you to keep your distance."
Confusion and rage warred inside of him, and the latter won. Diluc slammed the glass onto the wooden counter. "You think you know him? You think because you married him, you understand what he is? He is a liar. His entire existence in Mondstadt is built on a deception that destroyed my family. My father is dead because of him. Who knows how he’ll betray you?"
Eula stood up, leaning over the bar so she was inches from his face. The temperature in the room noticeably plummeted. "I know exactly who he is. I know about the night you tried to murder your own brother because your grief made you a coward. He told me everything."
Diluc flinched, his jaw tightening into a hard line.
"He carried the guilt of his past like a noose around his neck," Eula continued, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "You broke him, Master Diluc. You left him bleeding in the rain and ran away to chase your own vengeance. It took him years to stop looking at his own hands as if they were filthy, to accept his reflection in the mirror without self-hatred. If you think you can just wander back into this city and demand answers from him, think again. Vengeance will be mine if you bring him a single ounce of pain."
Diluc stared at her, the flames of his Vision flickering weakly against the overwhelming chill of her resolve. He saw no deceit in her eyes—only a fierce, unyielding protectiveness. For the first time, Diluc realized that Kaeya hadn't just found a spouse; he had found a shield.
“Stay away from my husband.”
She turned and exited the tavern, leaving a conflicted redhead filled with guilt at the reminder of what he did that night.
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The wedding was entirely illegal by the old laws of Mondstadt, which suited them both perfectly.
There were no grand crowds, no cathedral bells, and no aristocratic blessings. The ceremony took place at dawn on a pretty hillside overlook at Falcon Coast, witnessed only by Jean, Lisa, and a bewildered but supportive Amber.
Adelinde and Elzer were also there. Tears of joy welled up in the head maid’s eyes, and Elzer bore a proud smile.
The morning breeze whipped through Eula’s white veil, carrying the scent of Cecilia flowers.
Kaeya stood before her, stripped of his usual extravagant accessories and his theatrical posture. For once, his single visible eye was completely clear, holding no shadows or hidden agendas. He felt at peace.
When it came time to exchange vows, Kaeya held her hand, his fingers trembling slightly—a rarity for the smooth-talking Captain.
"Eula… The world gave us both names that we were expected to suffer for," Kaeya murmured, his voice carrying over the rushing sound of the ocean below. "The name I was born with is a curse. The second name I was given was stripped away. But today, Eula, I chose a name. I choose yours.” She opens her mouth to protest, but he stops her. “Sh. I will carry the weight of the Lawrence legacy with you, not as a punishment, but as a promise. I don’t care how much people hate me. I will have you, and that’s enough."
Eula looked at him, tears threatening to spill past her guarded exterior. "You are a fool, Kaeya," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Taking my name means half the city will look at you with scorn. They will call you a traitor."
"Let them look," Kaeya smiled, a breathtakingly real, radiant expression that he had never shown the public. "Let them talk. I’m done being afraid of what others think. The rest of the world can burn."
Jean stepped forward, clearing her throat to hide her own tears, and officially pronounced them wed. There was no grand reception, just a quiet breakfast between friends—but as Kaeya laced his fingers through Eula's, the ring he brought settled against her skin, solid and permanent.
For the first time in his life, he felt he belonged.
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The wind on the balcony of the Cavalry Captain’s office was freezing. Kaeya stood alone, leaning against the stone railing with a lit cigarette between his fingers. Rarely does he smoke, but Diluc’s unexpected return stressed him out.
He didn't look back when the heavy wooden doors creaked open, followed by the distinct, heavy tread of Diluc’s boots.
"You took her name," Diluc said, stopping a few paces behind him. His voice lacked the heat from the tavern; it was hollowed out by exhaustion. "Of all the names in Teyvat, Kaeya. You chose the one that represents everything this city fought to overthrow. What were you thinking?"
Kaeya took a slow drag, blowing the smoke into the night air before stubbing the cigarette out on the stone ledge. "It was the only name offered to me by someone who actually wanted me around."
Diluc winced. The words were delivered without spite, which made them dig deeper. "I didn't come back to fight you. I came back because... I thought enough time had passed. I thought we could talk."
"We are talking," Kaeya scoffed, finally turning around. He crossed his arms, his single eye locking onto Diluc’s. "But if you're looking for the boy who begged for your understanding in the rain four years ago, he’s gone. You killed him that night, Diluc. Eula just helped me bury the hatchet."
Diluc reached toward his coat to keep his hands warm, a movement that didn’t go unnoticed by the other. "She hates me. She made that very clear."
A fond grin finds its way onto Kaeya’s face. "She protects what is hers," Kaeya said, his voice dropping into a rare tone of absolute gravity as his grin drops. "When you left, I had nothing. No family, no honest identity, no future. She gave me a name that meant something, even if that something is hated. We share that burden. So, if you came back expecting me to beg for a place at Dawn Winery, you can turn right back around. Us Lawrence's don’t need your charity."
Diluc stared at his brother, at the sharp, unyielding posture, the silver ring gleaming on his finger, and the complete absence of the old, mocking mask. The realization settled heavily in Diluc's chest: he hadn't just lost a brother; he had lost the right to even ask for him back.
Kaeya moves past him to head for the stairs and leave, but before he does, he slips something into Diluc’s hand. A pyro vision. His.
Diluc stares at it and then at Kaeya’s back with regret.